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Pass first or a "balanced offense?"

Philbin and Sherman want to install a pass first 4 wide receiver (Finley played more snaps off the line as a wide out than on it as a tight end) like Green Bay and A&M. Is this the best way to go? Surly the rules have changed to where it isn't pass to score; run to win so much as it is pass to win. Plus playing in Miami we have 8 games a year of great passing conditions. That said the 2 teams in the superbowl were the 49ers run heavy/option offense and the Ravens who had a very balanced attack (proving once again Cam Cameron sucks).

I really like the way the Ravens use their offence mixing in a lot of 2 back and 2 tight end sets as well as putting all 5 players out wide at times. Boldin, especially when matched with those 2 speedsters outside, is an archetype for the player we should get to take over for Bess in the slot. IMO a player like that is more valuable than an amazing tight end. And the fact that they can and do run it takes pressure off their quarterback and allows him to use the play action, which as we have seen Tanne is very good at.

I just want an explosive offence, what the ratio of pass to run is, I will leave to the coaches......just get some playmakers, and give Tannihill a chance to find better match ups instead of having to force it, eating it. or throwing it out of balance.

I prefer balance. There are days where some aspect of the offense won't get going and you need something to fall back on. We haven't seen really what our offense can be due to our lack of playmakers - it shackled our play calling IMO. Look at the talent on the raven's roster. Pitta is explosive, Dickson did work, Ray Rice is a 3x pro bowler, Flacco didn't throw a single effing pick and thats easy to do when you have explosive guys like Jones, Smith, and Boldin on your team. They demand the ultimate respect, and the Ravens take advantage of that by taking what they can get. We don't have that luxury - every touchdown was a struggle this year. We can't do those 4-5 wide sets often because Tannehill would get killed by our porous o-line. It's easy to play bump and run and stack 8 in the box. Getting a Jennings or a Wallace is the first step to improving our O but we need more than just that to compete with the Pats and whatnot.

I'll repeat the theme I've held for nearly a decade: Premier quarterbacks can get away with shotgun and 4-5 wide finesse crap under these rules interpretations, but it's sheer ignorance for coaches to try it with second and third tier quarterbacks. I have to laugh when those coaches don't grasp the situational difference. When you adopt the same style but everything is worse, particularly at the key position, you are essentially volunteering to run alongside and come in 4th place or worse, like an Olympian off the podium.

Yesterday's game was an example of excellent balanced football. Don't believe the Aaron Shatz mularkey that all the rushes come late, courtesy of the team in the lead. That guy is laughably clueless toward real world situational impact. His site properly obsesses with the fantasy aspect because that's primarily what he deals with.

I was charting the game, toward halftime betting. Both teams had an excellent 15 rushes at halftime. That triggered a halftime wager on San Francisco, which I won. A team that ran the ball 15 times in the first half is a huge candidate to rally in the second half, if the score is illegitimate at halftime. If you chart enough games toward the logical relationship of rushing attempts and score, a game tied at 15 rushes apiece at halftime should not have a 21-6 tally, particularly with the underdog ahead. I now have more than 2000 games in my spreadsheet, with rushes at halftime in relation to the spread, score, and second half spread and score. It's monotonous but it leads me down the correct path, beyond what subjectivity would.

Baltimore actually had 16 rushes but I didn't count the fake field goal.

Well thank the CFL for the spread - the CFL has been throwing the ball in spread for better than 25- 30 years and teams like the Pats have adopted it fairly well - I am not opposed to the 3 and 4 yard throws

I agree that piss poor QBs cannot handle the spread but the rules in today's NFL really complement spreading out the D - rather than running up the gut 2 times and then dropping back to throw